Shane Thompson

Thank you, Mr. Chair, and I appreciate that information from the Minister. I guess my biggest challenge is that we're exempting the GNWT. We don't exempt them on the airport improvement fee. We don't do that, but now the taxpayers, the people of the Northwest Territories, now they have to pay this, and we're sitting here talking about making cost of living not have an impact on people, have the cost of living be better, and now we're sitting here doing that. So to me, what's the difference between the residents of the Northwest Territories and government of NWT? What is the difference? Why can...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I guess my first question is: when we talk about a charter challenge, has the department obtained a legal opinion in writing that this going to happen? Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you. I thank the Minister and department for doing that. That was a big concern when I was there actually the day after the accident happened. That was a big concern. I commend the department and the Minister for getting people in there. That made a big difference there.

Mr. Speaker, when I was in there, the health staff, you know, that was a lot of stress put on that person. Then they had an individual who was former staff helping out there. Did the department actually reach out to those individuals to work with them, to debrief with them, and help them move forward? Thank you, Mr...

I appreciate the Minister's answer. I guess my question was: what time did medevac take off from Nahanni Butte and Fort Liard? That's the time I'm looking at.

I appreciate the Minister's response. Again, I'm concerned, but it's great we're learning from it. Will the Minister make a commitment to provide that report back to social development? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I thank the Minister for the answer. I kind of disagree with some of the stats. The Fort Simpson fire department are trained to package and transport people; they're trained in it. The Minister may shake his head. We actually had a first care paramedic trained who was in Fort Simpson who was on call at that time. So why aren't we looking at using this? Is the medevac opportunity out of Yellowknife all we're going to be using, and is this how we're going to deal with all matters in the future?

Mr. Chair, clause 2 of Bill 18 adds a new section to the Cities, Towns and Villages Act that allows tax-based municipalities to levy a tax on tourism accommodations. Under clause 2, the new section 70.1(5) provides a list of exemptions, that is, a list of types of accommodations or classes for the persons and organizations who may be exempt from paying the tax. These include accommodations rented for more than 30 days, accommodations costing less than $20 per night, the Government of the Northwest Territories and its public boards and agencies, a person and his or her family being accommodated...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I would like to acknowledge two of my constituents from Fort Liard, Mr. Armand Bertrand and Mr. Frank Lomen.

Mr. Bertrand will be 85 years young on November 2nd, and Mr. Lomen will be 90 years young on January 1, 2019. I would like to extend my best wishes to Mr. Bertrand and Mr. Lomen as they celebrate their birthdays. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Chair, and I apologize. I took the whole 10 minutes. I was hoping not to.

The GNWT decided that they are not going to tax themselves, but we are going to tax the residents of the Northwest Territories with this fee. Is that what you are telling me? Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As Members in this House heard, we had an accident at the Nahanni Butte airport on August 15, 2018. I'm very happy to say that all the individuals directly involved with the crash are safe and were discharged from the hospital. I'm very happy to hear the collaboration between the community health representative in Nahanni Butte, and the healthcare practitioners in Fort Simpson and Yellowknife work very well together. It is good to hear that telehealth and our telephone systems work well. The community of Nahanni Butte and the GNWT health staff did an amazing job and...